Istanbul Airport prepares for new snowfall

ISTANBUL

The General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ) at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport on Jan. 25 stepped up preparations against a forecasted new wave of snowfall and cold weather, Doğan News Agency has reported. 

Officials from the DHMİ said they would assign 46 vehicles and at least 270 personnel to prevent possible problems on aprons and runways.

Airport personnel will also reportedly work in three different shifts, with 90 on duty per shift.

Scores of flights from Istanbul airports and city ferry lines had been canceled during the most recent snowfall, which started on Jan. 6, in what Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş described as the heaviest snow in seven years.

Turkish Airlines had cancelled a large number of scheduled domestic and international flights from its Atatürk Airport on the European side and Sabiha Gökçen Airport on the Asian side due to bad weather conditions.

A new wave of snowfall and cold weather coming from the Balkans is now forecast to affect Turkey, including Istanbul, according to officials from the General Directorate of Meteorology.    

The heavy snowfall that is forecast to start on the evening of Jan. 25 will affect Ankara and Istanbul, officials said, adding that the snow could reach a depth of 10-15 centimeters.  

Officials also predicted that countrywide temperatures would drop by around 8-10 degrees Celsius.